This Arts story was sponsored by Nikos Constant.
At Giant Robot 2 on Sawtelle Boulevard, thousands of Post-it notes line the gallery’s walls.
The three-by-three inch Post-it artworks, affixed to the wall with their standard adhesive strips, feature an array of colors, design styles, and art mediums. Some of the tiny pieces contain minimalist doodles, while others incorporate watercolor paint, layered paper cutouts, crochet squares, and carved wooden sculptures.
There are portraits, political slogans, anime characters, single-panel comics, various kaiju, alien girls, brand logos, and cats—so many cats.
The Post-it Show, which has been hosted annually by Giant Robot for 20 years, is one of the most exciting art shows that Los Angeles has to offer.
Dubbed “the biggest tiniest show in the world” by Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” as well as a frequent contributor to the gallery walls, Post-it Show is a massive undertaking.
“We start off with 2,400 Post-it notes,” Eric Nakamura, owner of Giant Robot Store and the GR2 Gallery, tells L.A. TACO. “It’s a lot.”
Running the first two weeks of December, Post-it Show features artworks from around the world. While many contributors are local, artists send in submissions from across the country, as well as Japan, China, and parts of Europe.
For the 2025 show, more than 300 artists scaled down their work onto a tiny, adhesive paper canvas.
According to Nakamura, featured contributors run the gamut from well-known artists, including Gary Baseman and Groening, to young newcomers just breaking into the art world.
“Everything’s the same price,” he says. “It’s all $30 each, so it makes it more fun and kind of democratic.”
Each miniature artwork is placed randomly on the gallery walls, with many of the Post-its unsigned and anonymously displayed.
Nakamura aims to level the playing field for artists by allowing patrons a space to choose pieces based on their own tastes, rather than outside influence or budgetary constraints. Giant Robot patrons might recognize an artist based on their style, but they’re mostly guided by whatever catches their eye.
“It’s almost like democratizing art and making everybody even,” Nakamura says. “I think that’s kind of the fun part … It gives everyone a chance.”
For the Giant Robot owner, the ubiquitous nature of Post-it notes is part of what makes the exhibit so unique. In everyday life, the unassuming piece of paper is frequently scribbled on and tossed aside without much thought. People rarely appreciate the humble sticky note.
“Doodling on those is sort of a pastime, right?" Nakamura says. "Everyone doodles on their Post-it notes.”
Tragically, Post-its are not normally considered a serious canvas for art. The act of doodling itself would usually be written off as a plebeian art-form.
A big reason why Post-it Show and Giant Robot still feel so refreshing after more than two decades is because of the team’s continued celebration of "lowbrow" art and pop surrealism.
Giant Robot’s artistic ethos lacks the veneer of pretension plaguing much of the art world, which can be traced back to the gallery’s roots as a subversive, pop culture magazine that published in the ‘90s and early aughts.
“[Post-it Show] is a level up,” says Nakamura. “People are making paintings on Post-its, right? Some are putting sculptures on them too … People come up with all these crazy ways to utilize a Post-it note and turn it into an art piece. It’s more than just doodles.”
Thankfully, the show also still makes room for plenty of doodles.
Giant Robot 2 Gallery ~ 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025
The 2025 Post-it Show has concluded, but leftover artwork is still available for purchase on Giant Robot’s website. You can also check out their upcoming exhibit, Totoro Show.
